Revelations from Patch 4.5

[Anonymoose]

Legend has it that the FFXIV's involvement with Ivalice (beyond the odd reference to Dalmasca as a city in Ilsabard and the borrowing of Scion names for the Ascians) began at the Square Enix Near Year's Party for 2016 - long after most of this was first introduced. They clearly couldn't have planned for it to be the case all along. Could retcons happen? Of course. Dalmasca was moved both geographically (to Othard) and chronologically (across decades). The history of the campaign was re-written to focus on Noah van Gabranth with a re-imagined assist from Livia. Way was made for the actual Belias and the Ivalician auracite. The Garleans were partly rooted in Goug. And now even the power known as Ultima is entwined with the Ivalician legend of Ajora. (Let's not leap to conflate them, however; the dateline markers in the story don't seem to place Ajora as any older than the Fifth Umbral Era unless some lines are tweaked.) ((Granted, the lines perhaps should be tweaked; Mikoto talks of Ultima in a way that seems to contradict Lahabrea's claim that Allag never discovered it, and Cid talks of Omega in a way that seems to contradict that it was built in our dimension.))


In light of all of that, I think it's far more likely that - if there is any connection at all - "Thunder God Cid" and Rhalgr share a common "seed of faith" ancestor, with Ramuh branching from Rhalgr afterwards. Notice that the Sylphs took up a "God of Man" and live right next to Ala Mhigo, and yet for some reason the Ala Mhigan depiction looks little like Ramuh while the old Sharlayan astrology card bears an identical visage. Notice also that Ramuh has knowledge he theoretically shouldn't, but is never once suggested to be older than the Sixth Astral Era as far as primal worship goes. He's never called an elder primal. I think the Sylphs befriended a retired Warrior of Light and his memory is entwined with Rhalgr, personally, but that's leaping up another level on the house of cards. If "Thunder God Cid" has been guarding Mullonde since the Fifth-ish Umbral ... how would he meet the Sylphs in Eorzea? (And why would he be hanging out near Garlemald on the world map?)

[Wyssahtyn]

Makes sense given he's roughly where Orbonne is on the map.

He's not though? Orbonne's in Othard, not Ilsabard.

[Anonymoose]

He's not though? Orbonne's in Othard, not Ilsabard.

And implied to be transpositioned into a pocket subdimension.

[Jonnycbad]

I stand corrected then. Well how about the mention of Tartarus? Could it be a metaphysical hell full of voidsent or perhaps an FF4-like Under World (not underworld), replete with Dwarves and Sealed Caverns, and Towers of Babil/Giant of Babil? Or perhaps it will be similar to FFXI's Tartarus full of demons, and Hades?

[Jonnycbad]

Mullonde is entered through Orbonne via a portal, yes. But perhaps it's transporting you not to a pocket dimension, but just to another point on Hydaelyn? Mullonde Necrohol used to be part of Hydaelyn, was it not? There are ruins there built by man and there are undead there, implying there was once life, and a coliseum as well. Sort of like in FFT where Mullonde was actually on the world map in the middle of the ocean (via hacking the game, this could be seen) as opposed to being a pocket dimension. I think in both cases the portals just spirit you to a specific coordinate as opposed to another plane.

[Iscah]

Sort of like in FFT where Mullonde was actually on the world map in the middle of the ocean (via hacking the game, this could be seen) as opposed to being a pocket dimension. I think in both cases the portals just spirit you to a specific coordinate as opposed to another plane.

I haven't played FFT, but I would say that even if Mullonde is, at a programming level, on an otherwise-inaccessible section of the normal game map, that doesn't mean that it's the true location of the "real" place. It might just be necessary that every overworld location is displayed on that single map. If the story tells you it's in a pocket dimension, I would say that trumps any hacked discovery of a location that you were never intended to see.

[Jonnycbad]

But Mullonde was a province of Ivalice, and the Cathedral of Mullonde was the seat of the high priest of Glabados. In FFXIV they never mention that, we only see the Nexrohol, which seems to be the ruins of a cathedral steeped in eery pallid ought.

[Wyssahtyn]

But Mullonde was a province of Ivalice, and the Cathedral of Mullonde was the seat of the high priest of Glabados. In FFXIV they never mention that, we only see the Nexrohol, which seems to be the ruins of a cathedral steeped in eery pallid ought.

According to Jenomis post Orbonne,

Mullonde was the seat of power for the Holy Ydoran Empire, this being several centuries before Ivalice's unification under Delita. Ajora rose up along with eleven others against the empire's corrupt ruling class and they came to be known as the Zodiac Braves. Ajora was apparently possessed of talents beyond those of mortal man, namely prognostication or the ability to foretell future events, thus allowing him to be declared a "son of the gods". Around when the Zodiac Braves rebellion reached its twentieth year, the imperial capital of Mullonde was destroyed in a single night and sunk into the sea upon which it was built. Ajora died during that event and was eventually elevated to sainthood. Later on though, several of the original Zodiac Braves came forward saying that Ajora had "invoked forbidden rites of summoning" and sold his soul to a devil. Jenomis's conjecture on that is that Ajora summoned Ultima and the remaining Braves joined together to exile the city to another plane where the High Seraph would be unable to exert her influence upon Hydaelyn.

[Daralii]

I stand corrected then. Well how about the mention of Tartarus? Could it be a metaphysical hell full of voidsent or perhaps an FF4-like Under World (not underworld), replete with Dwarves and Sealed Caverns, and Towers of Babil/Giant of Babil? Or perhaps it will be similar to FFXI's Tartarus full of demons, and Hades?

The Goug epilogue made it seem like it was just the name of a device, and talked about using it to dig to the center of the planet.

[Theodric]

Regarding Ultima:

It's very interesting how the upper body of Ultima has her hands crossed in a very similar manner to the statue we saw of Zodiark.